New Kowloon is an area in Hong Kong, bounded in the south by
Boundary Street, and in the north by the ranges of the
Eagle's Nest,
Beacon Hill Beacon Hill may refer to:
Places Canada
* Beacon Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood
* Beacon Hill Park, a park in Victoria, British Columbia
* Beacon Hill, Saskatchewan
* Beacon Hill, Montreal, a neighbourhood in Beaconsfield, Quebec
United ...
,
Lion Rock,
Tate's Cairn
Tate's Cairn or Tai Lo Shan () is a mountain in Hong Kong at in height. It is one of the peaks of the Kowloon Ridge and falls within Ma On Shan Country Park. The peak began to appear on colonial maps in the 1860s but remained unnamed until th ...
and
Kowloon Peak. It covers the present-day
Kwun Tong District and
Wong Tai Sin District, and part of the
Sham Shui Po District and
Kowloon City District.
The name of this area is rarely used in day to day life. Areas that belongs to New Kowloon are usually referred to as part of Kowloon. However, in land leases, it is common to refer to land lots in lot numbers as "New Kowloon Inland Lot number #".
History
By the
Convention of Peking
The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860. In China, they are regarded as amo ...
in 1860, the territory of British-owned
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and ...
was defined as area in
Kowloon Peninsula
The Kowloon Peninsula is a peninsula that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong, alongside Victoria Harbour and facing toward Hong Kong Island. The Kowloon Peninsula and the area of New Kowloon are collec ...
south of
Boundary Street (known as Kowloon, inclusive of
Stonecutter's Island), which was ceded by the
Qing Empire
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu people, Manchu-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin (1616–1636), La ...
(Ch'ing Empire, Manchu Empire) to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
under the Convention.
On the other hand, the territory north of
Boundary Street (later known as New Kowloon) remained part of Qing Empire until it was leased as part of the
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
to the UK in 1898 for 99 years under the
Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory (also known as the
Second Convention of Peking). The area of New Kowloon was defined in statutory law first in November 1900 (and referred to as such) and again in December 1937 In practice, nevertheless, both the areas to the south and to the north of Boundary Street (i.e. both
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and ...
and New Kowloon), from the
Lei Yue Mun strait in the east to
Mei Foo Sun Chuen
Mei Foo Sun Chuen or simply Mei Foo is a large private housing estate in Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Mei Foo Sun Chuen was the first large scale private housing estate in Hong Kong and at the time of completion, the 99-tower complex w ...
and
Lai Chi Kok Bay
Lai Chi Kok Bay ( Chinese: 荔枝角灣) or Lai Wan ( Chinese: 荔灣) was a bay west of Lai Chi Kok in Hong Kong. North of the bay is Kau Wa Keng. The bay was largely recreational during its history. In the early and mid 20th century, bathing pa ...
in the west, are collectively known as "Kowloon". For example, a postal address in
Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowl ...
will identify "Kowloon" as its regional destination, even though it is technically in New Kowloon and not part of Kowloon as statutorily defined.
Current situation
In modern-day conversations, the term "New Kowloon" is now rarely heard in Hong Kong. New Kowloon is no longer regarded as part of the
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
, but as a part of the Kowloon urban area beyond Boundary Street. Nevertheless, the legal definitions of Kowloon, New Kowloon and New Territories remain unchanged - New Kowloon has remained legally part of the
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
instead of
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and ...
. On 1 July 1997, the territories on both sides of
Boundary Street (ceded and leased respectively) were transferred to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
, along with the rest of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
.
However, the designation "New Kowloon" still has some legal implications. Almost all lands of Hong Kong are government land (known as
crown land
Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it ...
in Commonwealth countries and before 1997 in Hong Kong), while all crown leases (now known as government leases in Hong Kong) of New Kowloon and New Territories lands had been expired on 27 June 1997, but automatically extended up to 30 June 2047 due to the
Sino-British Joint Declaration. This renewal implies that, all privately owned land leases of New Kowloon, has to pay government rent (
crown rent in Commonwealth countries) as leases in the rest of the New Territories, and unlike the rest of the Kowloon. Most Kowloon land leases (Kowloon south of the Boundary Street) are not required to pay the government rent to the government, unless they are new leases, or are old leases having been renewed and such clauses have been inserted in the renewed lease contract.
The land reclaimed from the
Kowloon Bay water body, such as
Kai Tak, are also referred as part of New Kowloon in land leases,
although these lots do not appear to be included in the 1937 map.
See also
*
History of Hong Kong
The region of Hong Kong has been inhabited since the Old Stone Age, later becoming part of the Chinese Empire with its loose incorporation into the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Starting out as a farming fishing village and salt production site, ...
References
External links
Definition of New Kowloon in the Laws of Hong Kong as defined in 1937, Cap 1 SCHED 5, Hong Kong Laws
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Populated places in Hong Kong
Kowloon
New Territories